What is a Conservation District?
A conservation district is a zoning tool used to help communities protect certain characteristics in their neighborhood. Established on March 23, 1988, Kings Highway was not only the first conservation district in the city of Dallas but the entire state of Texas. In Dallas, conservation districts exist primarily in North Oak Cliff and East Dallas. They concentrate on protecting such things as architecture styles, densities of the areas, heights of structures, and setback guidelines. The process to become a conservation district typically takes 12–18 months from the initial authorizing of a study until the adoption by the city council.
These districts are similar to and often compared with historic districts. While exhibiting comparable characteristics, the two are quite different. Historic districts look to preserve the original structure exactly as when it was first built. They also attempt to preserve original materials, colors, styles, and other elements of the original structure. Conservation districts wish to maintain certain standards of an area.
The biggest difference between historic and conservation districts is the evaluation process of alterations made to structures within the area. For historic districts, it is necessary to have alterations reviewed by city staff members, neighborhood taskforces, and finally the Landmark Commission. This process can take 4–6 weeks. For conservation districts, alterations are reviewed by city staff members only. This can take as little as 1 day or up to 2 weeks depending on the work to be done. Essentially, the conservation district provides protection similar to a historical district, but tends to be more flexible for homeowners or developers wishing to refurbish a structure.